In thinking about a child’s development we often think about their motor skills, feeding skills and overall communication—but do we ever think about what is happening in their sensory nervous systems? A large part of a child’s capacity to learn is the ability to integrate sensory information.
Our nervous system is developing at the time of conception and continues on throughout life. It is critical to look at our sensory systems and make sure that we are getting the correct information from our senses to continue overall development, the ability to regulate our body and learn from our environment.
A child’s nervous system develops fully when provided information from all senses to then make an appropriate motor or behavioral response. Typically a child will seek out activities that will stimulate those senses which lead to higher level learning. This is not always the case, and not a guarantee. As a caregiver we need to be mindful that those systems are being activated to provide needed information for development. It may look like a child at play is not learning anything, when actually he is learning how to play.
What exactly is included in talking about sensory systems:
Our sensory systems involve 8 different systems developed in the following order:
Sensations that tell us what is coming from outside the body—-
Sensations that tell us where the body is in space and how it is moving —-
Vestibular (Movement) system is our “power house” system that provides us information about balance, motion and head position. For example this may tell us we are standing on our feet, sitting, or jumping. The mechanism that provides our nervous system with this information is located in your ear—and is triggered by the movement of your head. In children their systems are constantly changing and developing as their heads are moving in many directions and planes. We call it the “power house” system as the input provided can last in our bodies for up to 8 hours.
Proprioceptive system is located in our muscles and joints. It tells our body how much force is required to complete a task, and provides us with a sense of body awareness. This system also assists in regulating our nervous system in response to incoming sensory stimuli.
Sensations that tell us about the inside of the body —-
The last system that is often not included is Interoception. This is recognized by receptors in the internal organs and in major blood vessels. This is your ability to understand and interpret your body signals. This would include reading your body that you are hungry, thirsty, need to use the bathroom or tired, to name just a few.
Difficulty with Sensory processing—What does that look like in a child?
Following are examples of red flags for children in the main sensory systems that may be
impacting their overall development in many areas:
Tactile:
Vestibular:
Proprioception:
Auditory:
These are just a few red flags from many that indicate children may be challenged with incoming sensory information.
Words of Wisdom—Be mindful of your child’s overall nervous system development. Many times we look at a child’s temper tantrum/meltdown as just behavioral—but don’t underestimate the impact that a faulty sensory system can have on behavior, tolerance and their ability to regulate themselves.
This has been a brief overview of the importance of understanding sensory systems in developing children—I encourage you to seek out more information if this sounds familiar to challenges you as caregivers might be having with your children.
-Judi
References:
Ayres, A. Jean Ph.D.; Pediatric Therapy Network;(2013) Sensory Integration and the Child: Understanding Hidden Sensory Challenges. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.